Bill Maher will return to his HBO series Real Time without writers… just days after Drew Barrymore announced her controversial daytime return amid the WGA strike

With the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike halfway into its fourth month, yet another talk show has decided to return without its writers.

Bill Maher announced on social media on Wednesday that his HBO series Real Time with Bill Maher will return without a writing staff.

The 67-year-old is the first late night talk show host to return after the WGA strike began on May 2, with the new season of his show kicking off on Friday, September 22 at 10 p.m.

Broadcast Network late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Steven Colbert and Seth Meyers are teaming up with another HBO host, John Oliver, for a podcast called Strike Force 5, with proceeds from the podcast benefiting the staff and notable writers of each show.

The announcement comes just days after Drew Barrymore announced the return of her writer-less daytime series, with The Talk also returning.

Announced: Bill Maher announced on social media Wednesday that his HBO series Real Time with Bill Maher will return without a writing staff.

‘Real Time is unfortunately coming back, without writers or writing. It’s been five months and it’s time to get people back to work,” Maher began.

“The writers have important issues that I sympathize with, and I hope they are addressed satisfactorily, but they are not the only people with issues, problems and concerns,” he said.

‘Despite some help from me, a large part of the staff is struggling. We were all hoping it would end after Labor Day, but that day has passed and still nothing seems to be happening,” Maher said.

He added: “I love my writers, I’m one of them, but I’m not willing to lose a whole year and see so many people suffer so much at the bottom.”

“I will honor the spirit of the strike by not doing a monologue, desk piece, New Rules or editorial commentary, the written pieces I am so proud of on Real Time,” he admitted, which would not put him in conflict with the strike to take. regulations.

“And I’ll tell the audience up front: The show I’m going to do without my writers is not going to be as good as our normal show, period,” Maher argued.

“But the core of the show is a ready-made panel discussion that aims to cut through the nonsense and predictable partisanship, and that will continue. The show will not disappoint you,” concludes Maher.

While he appeared to support the writers in his lengthy statement, he called some of the writers’ demands “crazy” on his Club Random podcast last week.

Returning: ‘Real Time is unfortunately coming back, without writers or writing. It’s been five months and it’s time to get people back to work,” Maher began

Issues: “The writers have important issues that I sympathize with, and I hope they are addressed satisfactorily, but they are not the only people with issues, problems and concerns,” he said

“What I find objectionable about the philosophy of the strike is that it has really changed a lot from the 2007 strike, where they kind of believe that you make a living as a writer, and you don’t,” Maher said.

‘This is show business. This is the make-or-miss competition,” Maher continued, though he added, “I’m not saying they don’t have their points,” in line with their stance on streaming platforms reporting viewership data.

He added: “I feel for my writers. I love my writers. I am one of my writers. But there is a big other side to it.’

“And there’s a lot of people getting hurt besides them — a lot of people who don’t make as much money as they do in this bipartisan world that we’re in, where you’re in one camp or the other, there’s no middle ground,” he said.